


Mirror of Erised

by Jena Bartley (jenab)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-01
Updated: 2013-01-01
Packaged: 2017-12-04 02:50:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/705670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenab/pseuds/Jena%20Bartley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Snape peers into the Mirror of Erised.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mirror of Erised

TITLE: Mirror of Erised

RATING: G

DISCLAIMER: All characters and property of Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment and no money was made from it.

SUMMARY: Snape peers into the Mirror of Erised.

Feedback and constructive criticism is always appreciated.

DATE: March 2, 2002

************

It tempted him even though he knew better. The mirror was hard to miss in the dusty classroom. Beautiful and ancient, it called to Snape to come look into its endless expanse.

The Mirror of Erised. It stripped away all the walls built over a lifetime to reveal a person’s deepest desire.

His features were softer in the mirror. Not smiling, but his eyes were burning with a fierce joy. Snape couldn’t remember the last time he had felt such joy. His mirror self lowered his eyes to regard the man clasped within his arms. The man had his back to Snape, his face obscured by his head resting in the curve of neck and shoulder of his other self. One sallow hand was stroking up and down the man’s back, the gesture surprisingly tender and intimate, as if they were lovers.

Love. Snape reached out without thinking, fingers itching to bury themselves in the dark, mussed hair of the other man. His deepest desire. Fingers halted before they could brush against the cool surface of the mirror. They curled into a tight fist as he turned away from it.

What a foolish emotion, love. It made frivolous idiots of his students; transformed them into giggling, blushing children bent on gazing at each other in class instead of concentrating on their potions. It broke their elders’ hearts, turning them into pathetic wretches weeping when affairs ended.

Love made you weak, vulnerable to another’s wants and whims. Letting someone else into your heart meant only torment and despair. He had lived thirty-five years with only experiencing that emotion once. There had been the one infatuation in his school days – but he had cut it off when he realized what power over him he was placing in his crush’s hands.

He shouldn’t have looked into that cursed mirror. The damned thing was useless; it didn’t reveal any truth or knowledge, only dreams. He knew this but he had looked anyway.

"Ah, Severus. I see you have arrived." Albus Dumbledore’s voice echoed slightly in the dusty classroom. "It is time to move the mirror now."

 


End file.
